Canoona

The Fitzroy River forms the southern boundary of the locality, while Marlborough Creek and Mountain Hut Creek form most of its western boundary. The Bruce Highway forms most of the north-eastern boundary with North Coast railway line running closely beside it.{{Queensland Globe|access-date=28 August 2023}}

A number of creeks flow through the locality, all are tributaries of the Fitzroy River.

The Princhester Conservation Park lies in the west of the locality and the Lake Learmouth State Forest in the east. Apart from these protected areas, the land is predominantly used for grazing.

Although a town centre was surveyed for Canoona at {{Coord|-23.0328|150.1393|type:city_region:AU-QLD|name=Canoon township (former)}}, no township remains and the township land is now a reserved area.

There are a number of railway stations on the North Coast line within the locality; from north to south:

• Kunwarara railway station ({{Coord|-22.9153|150.1361|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|display=|name=Kunwarara railway station}})
• Uromoko railway station, now abandoned ({{coord|-22.9313|150.1633|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Uromoko railway station (former)}}){{Cite web |date=2 October 2020 |title=Railway stations and sidings - Queensland |url=https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005070354/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd |archive-date=5 October 2020 |access-date=5 October 2020 |website=Queensland Open Data |publisher=Queensland Government}}
• Merimal railway station, now abandoned ({{coord|-22.9535|150.1996|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Merimal railway station (former)}})
• Canoona Loop railway station, now dismantled ({{coord|-23.0170|150.3143|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Canoona Loop railway station (former)}})
• Glen Geddes railway station ({{coord|-23.0253|150.2584|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Glen Geddes railway station}})
• Canoona railway station, now abandoned ({{Coord|-23.0761|150.2773|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|display=|name=Canoona railway station (former)}}){{Cite web |title=Railway stations and sidings |url=https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/c7603543-bdbb-424d-8b2b-1ae66a753480 |access-date=2020-08-10 |website=Queensland Open Data |publisher=Queensland Government |language=en-AU}}

Despite its name, Kunwarara railway station is located within the boundaries of present-day Canoona.{{Cite QPN|18627|Kunwarara|railway station in Shire of Livingstone|accessdate=11 August 2020}}

Scottish colonists and brothers William Thomas Elliot and George Mackenzie Elliot came to the frontier Fitzroy River region in September 1855 to establish a sheep station, which they named Canoona.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71965386 |title=Rockhampton Fifty Years Ago |newspaper=The Capricornian |volume=35 |issue=7 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=13 February 1909 |access-date=24 December 2020 |page=45 |via=National Library of Australia}} The brothers had previously established the Johngboon property near Barambah to the south. Their father was James Elliot, 3rd Laird of Wolfelee House near Hawick in Scotland. One of their other brothers was Walter Elliot of the East India Company and secretary to the governor of the Madras Presidency.{{cite web |last1=Symes |first1=Peter |title=The Elliots |url=https://wynnesdiary.com/the-elliots-2/ |website=Wynne's Diary |access-date=24 December 2020}}

In January 1856, after a massacre of local Aboriginal people perpetrated by Lieutenant John Murray of the Native Police at nearby Nankin Creek, some 200 Aboriginal men, women and children came to Canoona and began shouting at the employees of the Elliots. William Thomas Elliot and his men opened fire at random upon the group which fled after a short time. Two of the white men were wounded and about seven of the local inhabitants were killed. Fellow colonist, Charles Archer of Gracemere and a group of Native Police troopers later pursued these Aboriginal people toward the east and punished them further. Local Aboriginal people friendly to Archer were also fired upon, killing one. George Mackenzie Elliot died of illness soon after, while William Thomas Elliot remained in the region for some time, later dying in Munich in 1890.

{{main|Canoona gold rush}}

After the goldfields in New South Wales and Victoria had been mined to the extent where there were few opportunities for the independent miner possessed of only basic equipment, many miners were seeking a new opportunity. On hearing that gold had been found at Canoona in about July 1858, it stimulated a gold rush and approximately 20,000 miners descended on Canoona within the following months.{{cite book |last=Muir |first=Kenneth |date=2012 |title=Gold: The precious metal that brought instant wealth and long-term prosperity |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/5970804/Details |location=Sydney, NSW |publisher=Trocadero Publishing |page=31 |isbn=978-086427-119-8}} However, relatively little gold was found at Canoona and there was great disappointment and Canoona became known as a "duffer". Having spent everything to come to Canoona, many miners were then destitute. Having lost so much of its labour force, the Victorian Government sent a ship to enable destitute miners to return to Victoria and repay their fare by working in Melbourne on their return. While many returned to the southern states, others remained in Queensland providing a labour force that enabled the development of the newly established colony of Queensland. Some remained and would try their luck in Queensland's later gold rushes. For example, Hugo William Du Rietz was enticed to Australia by the gold rushes in Ballarat and then came to the Canoona gold rush and then to the Gympie gold rush. Although never particularly successful as a miner, he was successful as an architect and builder and took an active civic role in Brisbane and Gympie.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188711143 |title=Personal |newspaper=Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette |location=Queensland |date=10 August 1908 |access-date=18 September 2015 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

The North Coast railway line through Canoona was opened in 1915.

Although Kunwarara railway station remains officially an operational station, in 1994 the station building was relocated to the Australian Workers Heritage Museum in Barcaldine.{{Cite web|title=Kunwarara Station: Australian Worker's Heritage Centre|url=https://www.brandiprojects.com.au/project/kunwarara-station-australian-workers-heritage-centre/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=Brandi Projects|language=en-US}}

In the {{CensusAU|2016}}, Canoona had a population of 81 people.{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC30526|name=Canoona (SSC)|access-date=20 October 2018|quick=on}}

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, Canoona had a population of 90 people.{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL30522|name=Canoona (SAL)|access-date=28 February 2023|quick=on}}

There are no schools in Canoona. The nearest government primary schools are Milman State School in Milman to the south-east and Marlborough State School in neighbouring Marlborough to the north-west. The nearest government secondary school is Glenmore State High School in Kawana, Rockhampton; however, some parts of Canoona are too distant for a daily commute so other options would be distance education and boarding school.

• Alwyn Torenbeek (1937-2015), a notable Australian drover, endurance- and bronc rider, was killed in an accident on a rural property at Canoona in 2015. It is believed that the accident occurred when Torenbeek inadvertently pressed the accelerator while attempting to move over to the passenger side of the vehicle he was in, causing it to collide into a post.

{{reflist}}

• {{Citation | author1=McDonald, Lorna | title=The Rockhampton Delusion: a brief history of the Canoona rush | publication-date=1979-01-01 | publisher=Oxley Memorial Library Advisory Committee for the Library Board of Queensland | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/39204168 | access-date=18 September 2015 }} — full text available [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:246264/Qld_heritage_v3_no10_1979_p28_p35.pdf online]

{{Commons category|Canoona, Queensland}}

• {{cite web|url=http://queenslandplaces.com.au/canoona|title=Canoona|website=Queensland Places|publisher=Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland}}

{{Shire of Livingstone}}

Category:Shire of Livingstone

Category:Localities in Queensland